Flat Eye presents a possible future which may be neither desirable nor avoidable.

To create this world and make it credible, MONKEY MOON took inspiration from the present. There is no lack of sources: online articles, social media videos, scientific journals and more. On the team's private chat, one observation came up again and again: ""when reality goes beyond fiction."" Things that may seem a long way off or even impossible in the game may in fact have already happened, and some of the game's narrative threads were directly inspired by these true stories.
As archivist for the project, my mission, toward the end of the development process, was to gather all of these articles to create this coherent bibliography. It provides a closer look at what inspired Flat Eye, of course, but also at our present--a time of such rapid, constant change that we don't even realize it's happening anymore.
The goal of this snapshot of the world is to place Flat Eye's major themes (artificial intelligence, the future of work, social change, etc.) in their context. The bibliography sorts articles into several different categories (with frequent overlaps) and provides a summary for each. If you're only after the links and references, you'll find it all at the bottom of the page.

September 2022. The archivist.

A crisis? A problem? No need to panic: people will find a technological solution. Not a realistic, easily rolled out, effective or existing solution, no. But an innovative, expensive, modern or even futuristic solution that inspires people and leaves them in awe, an invention that raises capital and builds a reputation for its designers. In short, a new product, because a problem or a crisis is first and foremost an opportunity.

DeepSense, a company based in San Francisco and New Delhi, uses artificial intelligence to assess job candidates’ personalities based on their social media accounts.

Published on October 26 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on December 24 2019

{Content in English}

Start-up DeepSense uses machine learning and psycholinguistic concepts to determine a person's personality from their public social network profiles. The tool is aimed at recruiters, who could use it to quickly filter candidates and exclude incompatible profiles. When interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, DeepSense's founder got defensive but admitted he estimates the tool's accuracy at around 75%.

https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1187866426910167046

[SOL-0] See reference details

Dammit Gwyneth! (HR software that screens applicants)

Published on November 14 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on December 24 2019

{Content in English}

A Twitter thread all about a recruitment process based on a personality test. The mandatory test rejected canddiates according to opaque criteria. The department head who was looking to hire a new employee took the test himself and got the lowest possible score. The HR department failed to see the problem.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OLOa7su

[SOL-2] See reference details

The biggest lie tech people tell themselves — and the rest of us

Published on October 08 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on December 24 2019

{Content in English}

A critique of the tech industry's claim that the evolution of technology is inevitable, even when it doesn't serve the public good.

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/10/1/20887003/tech-technology-evolution-natural-inevitable-ethics

[SOL-3] See reference details

This charity wants to turn homeless people into WiFi hotspots

Published on November 13 2015

Seen by Flat Eye team on December 24 2019

{Content in English}

Prague-based charity WiFi 4 Life attempted to equip the city's homeless with portable WiFi routers to turn them into hotspots for passers-by and tourists. The charity indicated that homeless people would be compensated for their participation. WiFi 4 Life tried to get the necessary funding for the project via crowdfunding website Indiegogo, but it only received 37 euros. "The worst option would be not to try it," explained chairman Luboš Boleček.

https://www.businessinsider.com/wifi-4-life-turns-homeless-people-into-internet-hotspots-2015-11?r=US&IR=T

Note from the archivist: They gave up on the project. Luboš Boleček has since gone on to found the conservative Czech political party known as the Tea Party.

[SOL-4] See reference details

Drones could help us Plant more Trees to help reduce Carbon Emissions

Published on December 18 2019

Seen by Flat Eye team on December 24 2019

{Content in English}

Video about start-up Dendra Systems, which makes drones that shoot beads full of seeds at the ground. These "sky tractors" aim to optimize planting.

https://imgur.com/gallery/jnO6Byc

[SOL-5] See reference details

Comment Facebook utilise son datacenter pour chauffer la ville danoise d'Odense

Published on July 13 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on August 24 2020

{Content in French}

Meta manages two data centers covering 50,000 square meters in Odense in the Netherlands. The heat they generate is supplied to a local urban heating network, which distributes it to heat homes in town.

https://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/comment-facebook-utilise-son-datacenter-pour-chauffer-la-ville-danoise-d-odense-39906413.htm

[SOL-6] See reference details

Hope Frozen: A Quest To Live Twice (trailer)

Published on August 19 2020

Seen by Flat Eye team on August 31 2020

{Content in English}

A documentary about a Thai couple who decided to crypreserve their daughter who died of an incurable brain cancer in hopes that future technology will be able to revive and cure her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vecjCWsrhww

[SOL-7] See reference details

Watch Robots Make Pizzas From Start to Finish at an Automated Pizzeria

Published on July 14 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on July 15 2021

{Content in English}

Pazzi is a fully automated pizzeria in Paris where the pizzaiolo has been replaced by articulated robot arms. The pizzas are ready in a flash and are only available for takeout, since the company aims to save on rent in addition to salaries. They do have a few employees, though, to ensure the robot and order terminals are in good working order.

https://singularityhub.com/2021/07/14/watch-robots-make-pizzas-from-start-to-finish-at-an-automated-pizzeria/

Note from the archivist: I had to try it. I'll stick with my traditional pizzeria.

[SOL-8] See reference details

French startup promises cruelty-free foie gras, grown in a lab

Published on July 14 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on July 19 2021

{Content in English}

French start-up Gourmey aims to deliver "the foie gras of the future"--grown in a laboratory. At the time the article was written, man-made meat was mostly used for burgers, but Gourmey wants to prove that it can also be used in gastronomical cuisine. One major advantage of this method is that tit circumvents the forced feeding of geese and ducks required for the production of traditional foie gras, which means it could be produced in countries where foie gras has traditionally been outlawed for animal curelty. In France, however, foie gras bears a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, and synthetic meat does not qualify.

https://fortune.com/2021/07/14/foie-gras-lab-grown-gourmey-startup-ethical-food/

[SOL-10] See reference details

The UAE is Using Drones to Control Dubai's Weather

Published on July 21 2021

Seen by Flat Eye team on July 27 2021

{Content in English}

To modify Dubai's arid climate, the UAE has financed several projects to enhance rainfall. One of them is cloud seeding: specially designed drones shock rain clouds with electrical charges to create larger drops of water, which are more likely to resist evaporation and reach the ground in liquid state.

https://interestingengineering.com/the-uae-is-using-drones-to-control-dubais-weather

[SOL-9] See reference details

References